79-year-old babysitter Albert Waters, of Burwell, admits that ‘things got out of hand’ but denies sexually assaulting 7-year-old girl in her bedroom

A 79-year-old babysitter encouraged a 7-year-old girl to stroke his genitals before he “sniffed” her, a court heard.

Albert Waters, of Pound Close, Burwell, denies sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13 by touching on May 11 last year, as well as indecent exposure, which the youngster alleges took place on one occasion between October 2011 and October 2012 when she was 6.

On the first day of the pensioner’s trial at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday, prosecutor Sara Walker said the most recent incident took place at the girl’s house in a Cambridgeshire village when Waters was babysitting her and her sister while her father was on a night out in Newmarket.

Miss Walker said: “Her father came home at 2am that evening and he said that everything was in order and he went to bed.

“It wasn’t until the next day at 5pm that the sister said the girl had ‘done something with Albert last night’.

“The father asked his daughter what happened and she became upset and started crying.”

Miss Walker told the jury the defendant came into the children’s shared room when called to read a story, but went on to reveal his penis and ask the complainant to touch it, which she did.

She added: “He then took her pyjamas bottoms down and sniffed her.”

In her police interview filmed three days after the incident, which was played to the jury, the complainant said: “I said no but he said yes, yes, and I said no, no.

“Afterwards he told me not to tell daddy and he went downstairs.”

Waters disputes the prosecution’s case but accepts that “things got out of hand” after he read to them, leading to the 7-year-old revealing her genitals and asking to see his in return.

He said he refused but the girl touched his penis through his trousers without his permission and then pulled them down suddenly, leaving him exposed for a short period.

But Miss Walker said: “We do not accept the defence’s version that she came on to him.”

And discussing the second charge, she added: “The girl told police that on an earlier occasion she had been in her house upstairs playing with toys and the defendant came into her bedroom and said ‘look at this’.